Final answer:
The Tuskegee Experiment was a study by the U.S. Public Health Service on the effects of untreated syphilis in African American men, where subjects were not informed of or treated for their syphilis even after a cure was available.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Tuskegee Experiment was a notorious clinical study conducted by the U.S. Public Health Service between 1932 and 1972 in Macon County, Alabama. Approximately 600 African American men, including 399 with syphilis, were misled into believing they were receiving treatment for 'bad blood.' In actuality, the study aimed to observe the natural progression of untreated syphilis in black males. This ethically corrupt study continued even after penicillin was recognized as an effective cure for syphilis in the 1940s, but the participants were deliberately denied this treatment. The Tuskegee Experiment is a significant example of racial injustice and violation of ethics in medical research, which led to substantial changes in how patients are protected and informed in clinical studies.
The study aimed to observe the progression of untreated syphilis in African American men. The men were not given the cure (penicillin) when it became available in the 1940s. This unethical and inhumane study lasted for 40 years, finally ending in 1972. Key people associated with the experiment include James H. Jones, the author of the book "Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment," and Tracy Kidder, who wrote "Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World."